A Fire Piranha Plant[1][2] (also called a Fire Piranha[3] or Venus Fire Trap[4]) is a variety of Piranha Plant that can shoot fireballs, and some have the ability to fire three at a time. They come in either green or red varieties. Its other name, Venus Fire Trap, is a play on the name of a real life carnivorous plant, the Venus flytrap. The Ice Piranha Plant is the polar opposite of the Fire Piranha Plant.

In their first appearance in Super Mario Bros. 3, Venus Fire Traps appear as common enemies in most worlds. Their attack pattern basically consists of hiding in Warp Pipes, much like regular Piranha Plants, and, when Mario approaches, rising from the pipe and spitting an unstoppable fireball in his direction. Like regular Piranha Plants, they can only be defeated with power-ups, and depending on how tall they are, appear in red or green. In some levels, Venus Fire Traps can spit two times in a row, and some inhabit quicksand instead of pipes. Aside from the enemies, the king of Pipe Land was also transformed into a Venus Fire Trap with a small pipe by Ludwig von Koopa in the original NES version of the game.

They also appear rarely in Super Mario 64 and its remake in Tiny-Huge Island and Bowser in the Sky, where they are drastically smaller than their previous appearances (or, in the case of the Huge part of Tiny-Huge Island, larger). They attack by appearing suddenly, then blasting a small fireball before disappearing. Like with normal Piranha Plants, they can be defeated by being punched. Larger versions called Piranha Flowers (later known as Big Venus Fire Traps) also appear, which are approximately as large as Big Piranha Plants. They attack the same way and can be defeated with a single punch or by using a Super Mushroom (in the remake only).

In New Super Mario Bros. Wii, they behave the same as in New Super Mario Bros. and can be defeated in the same way as last time; however, they can now be frozen via Penguin Suit or Ice Flower. They first appear in World 1-3. Fire Piranha Plants can also be helpful to the player because they can be found in dark caves where there are no Light Blocks. The fire these enemies spit can light up a small amount of the room, often revealing secret pipes and pits. Yoshi can swallow the fireball or the Fire Piranha Plant itself to be able to spit a fireball out, which can be used to defeat enemies, although this fireball can still hurt other players. Big Venus Fire Traps also reappear in this game; they are the same size as Big Piranha Plants and take three fireballs to destroy. The fireballs they spit are also larger. Just as before, if a Fire Piranha Plant is in a pipe, it spits a fireball and briefly retreats into the pipe; if it has no pipe, it spits a fireball then chomps in the air for a few seconds before doing it again.

Fire Piranha Plants appear in Super Mario 3D Land. However, their appearances have changed. They are now brown with orange spots and slightly resemble Fiery Dino Piranha's colors. Some leave behind a Fire Flower when they are defeated by Mario.

Fire Piranha Plants also appear in New Super Mario Bros. 2. They reuse their appearance from the previous New Super Mario Bros. games, with red and white spots. Big Venus Fire Traps also appear in the game. In World 6-2, using a Gold Ring inside a bonus room turns the Fire Piranha Plant into a golden Fire Piranha Plant; it acts the same as a normal one, but when it is defeated Coins emerge from the Warp Pipe, like a normal Piranha Plant.

Fire Piranha Plants also reappear in New Super Mario Bros. U along with their ice counterparts. They mostly retain their behavior and appearance from their previous New Super Mario Bros. series appearances, except that they always face up while not spitting fireballs.

Fire Piranha Plants appear in Super Mario Odyssey, where they can be found in the Lost Kingdom, the Luncheon Kingdom, and the Metro Kingdom. Unlike in prior 3D games, they look the same as normal Piranha Plants, and when they are about to spit a fireball, their heads glow orange. Cappy will become trapped in a Fire Piranha Plant's mouth if Mario throws him at one, stopping it from spitting fireballs. If a rock is thrown at a Fire Piranha Plant, it will similarly hold it in its mouth, allowing Mario to capture the enemy and use it to shoot fireballs. Throwing Cappy at a fireball that a Fire Piranha Plant spits causes it to be knocked in a different direction.

In Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins, Fire Piranha Plants once again appear as common enemies and have the same attack pattern as in Super Mario Bros. 3. This game is the only one in which they have spikes on their heads. Fire Piranha Plant statues appear in Mario's castle; like their living counterparts, they spit fireballs, although they also come in comparatively big and small sizes.

They are common enemies in Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis. They aren't seen commonly in tubes, usually only in the boss fight of Pipe Works. They use their fire breathing ability, and have only one fireball, keeping their mouths open until they get their fireball back. They are invincible in this game. Two may swallow each other's fireballs, as if they were playing catch.

While Fire Piranha Plants do not appear as normal enemies in the original Paper Mario, a big unique one called Lava Piranha appears as the boss of Mt. Lavalava. It shares the same name as a regular Fire Piranha Plant in the Japanese version.

Fire Piranha Plants make their Paper Mario series debut in Paper Mario: Sticker Star. They appear in Rugged Road and Rumble Volcano. They look like regular Piranha Plants, but will eventually start spitting fireballs at Mario as he nears them. If any of these fireballs touch Mario, he loses 5 HP. In battle, Fire Piranha Plants can either spew a fiery gas towards Mario or spit out a fireball at him. Their name was shortened to "Fire Piranha" in the North American version, but the European release uses its full name.

Another one is found in Plum Park inside a bucket, and has to be First Strike-attacked with a hammer in order to not get damaged. The Fire Piranha Plant in Plum Park does not shoot fireballs outside of battle.

Fire Piranha Plants also appear in Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam, where they are found in Gloomy Woods. Their paper variants later appear in Twinsy Tropics. Fire Piranha Plants can attack by spitting fireballs at the bros. They can either spit two small fireballs, which target Mario and Luigi, or a large fireball, which targets Paper Mario. The fireballs occasionally cause the burn status ailment. Fire Piranha Plants can also attack by stretching their head backwards, causing it to be pulled forwards quickly into one of the bros., which can be countered with a hammer.